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Since taking office as President of Zimbabwe in November 2017, despite repeated calls for democratic change, Emmerson Mnangagwa has done little to promote human rights and democracy in the country. Instead, his government exacerbated the economic crisis in Zimbabwe, which led to corruption, instability, and opposition, freedom fighters and the media creating a climate of instability.
This is why I was shocked and angry to see him say it on November 14th story in Al Jazeera that EU and US sanctions on Zimbabwe are the main impediments to his government’s progress.
In his remarks, accusing Zimbabwe of wanting to tackle climate change, Mnangagwa gave a fascinating picture of his government’s activities and goals, saying that his government has plans to make Zimbabwe a “middle-income country by the end of the year.” ten years, in support. thousands of poverty, new incentives and allowing Zimbabwe to play a leading role in Africa. “He went on to say that his government has made great strides since its inception” and responded with a number of reforms, including providing compensation to landowners who lost their property in the 2000s, as well as tackling corruption. “
But there is a big difference between forward speech and real talk.
Under Mnangagwa’s leadership, corruption was also seen as a barrier to economic stability and the advancement of democracy in Zimbabwe. In February, the Daily Maverick published an explosive report criticizing the president for supporting the corruption and seizure of the government for economic and political gain. “Among other things, border crossings cost Zimbabwe $ 3 billion a year and billions of gold and diamonds are smuggled out of the country.” “It appears that Zimbabwe could lose half of its annual revenue of $ 21.4bn due to corruption.” The report states that “political cartels” are doing this and that President Mnangagwa, despite his anti-corruption agenda, is “one of the cartel bosses whose security and security makes the cartels work.”
There is also ample evidence that, despite constantly announcing their support to Black Indigenous farmers, the Mnangagwa government is doing little to protect them. Instead, Zimbabwe continues to plunder the lands of black people with impunity to this day. In March, for example, the government approved the eviction of more than 13,000 Shangaan people from their ancestral lands in Chiredzi state to open a lucerne cultivation system. Opposition from rural communities, with the help of many local and international human rights organizations, fell on deaf ears.
All this, in contrast to the portrait of Mnangagwa in his Al Jazeera article, which severely hinders Zimbabweans from exercising their human rights is not external sanctions, but the actions of Mnangagwa himself and his ruling ZANU-PF party.
Indeed, since the dictatorship, the disregard for democracy and the human rights of Mnangagwa has reached a point where the majority of Zimbabweans. nostalgic growth to his leader Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the country with iron for 37 years.
For example, in August 2018, Zimbabwean soldiers and police, who were dispatched “on the orders” of Mnangagwa, killed six unarmed people during a post-election protest. The government has set up an international inquiry committee – led by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe – to investigate the allegations in a bid to demonstrate their commitment to human rights and justice.
The commission ended its work in December 2018, finding that the police had used “unreasonable and unlimited” force against protesters, and recommended that the soldiers and police officers who killed the victims be punished. However, so far no minor or minor police or military officer has been charged or convicted in connection with the killings.
Worse still, the government has ignored many of the Motlanthe Commission’s positive policies. The families of the victims, as well as those who were physically injured, were not compensated. Laws on hostility, cybercrime and violence, which the government uses to intimidate and imprison democrats such as Hopewell Little, Blessings Haruzivishe and Job Sikhala, have not been reviewed. And no changes have been made to the Electoral Act since the 2018 election.
Unsurprisingly, government-sanctioned killings did not end after this dark night in 2018. As Human Rights Watch reported, Zimbabwean soldiers killed 17 people and raped 17 women in a protest against 150 percent oil prices in January 2019. Meanwhile, Mnangagwa’s spokesman George Charamba tried to justify the death, and told the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper “to respond so far and foresee what is to come.”
Unfortunately, Charamba has been proven to be more accurate over the past two years.
In May 2020, two women activists of the opposition MDC and a member of parliament were allegedly abducted, tortured and raped by government security forces. This prompted United Nations human rights experts to call on Harare to “immediately end the disappearance and suffering of what appears to be a desire to prevent protests and inconsistencies”. Apparently, Mnangagwa’s administration ignored the request.
In August 2020, civil servants kidnapped suspected freedom fighters and arrested anti-government lawmakers on a night that staged protests against government corruption. Tawanda Muchehiwa, a 22-year-old student, who was robbed in a hardware store by about 15 men in vintage clothing, for example, was tortured for two days and left with tragic events that changed his life. The government has not taken any action to correct the perpetrators or to answer any questions regarding the government’s role in these cases.
Therefore, yes, it is commendable that Mnangagwa has committed himself to “tackling climate change” and “reducing air pollution by 40 percent by 2030”, but we must not take for granted that he is striving to promote democracy and human rights in this country. price.
Today, the people of Zimbabwe are facing the devastating effects not only of climate change, but also of economic mismanagement, corruption and political oppression, for which Mnangagwa is responsible. That is why the President should not be allowed to “burn” the spoils of his government or condemn anything that is not right with the country in EU and US cases.
Economic and political sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe in the early 2000’s for human rights abuses and lawlessness in the ZANU-PF government. Sadly, today the new ZANU-PF government is in control but the people of Zimbabwe continue to suffer from such atrocities.
On October 11, the group carrying opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was attacked by suspected members of the ruling party. Chamisa was unharmed, but police guarding him were close to the injured. Although such an attack on opposition politicians was not uncommon for ZANU-PF and its supporters, it did send a clear message to the rest of the world: The future of Zimbabwe’s democracy is uncertain. Indeed, there are fears that Zimbabwe will once again face pressure from the government in the run-up to the 2023. general elections.
Before calling on countries to lift sanctions, the Mnangagwa government must take a sincere look at reforming its activities, implementing radical democratic reforms, promoting political development and a strong culture of human rights.
How do we continue to prosper if our government is still plagued by selfish, violent, and repressive practices of the past? We can only call on the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the UN and other countries to oppose Mnangagwa’s attempts to undermine his government’s policies and force him to respect our lives and respect our economic, democratic and human rights.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Al Jazeera.
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